Cherry Blossom in the Desert
by Kinomoto Neko
Summary: What if Sakura had been raised in Suna instead of Konoha? How would things be different? No pairing as of yet... Rated for language... OH HOLD FOR NOW
1. Chapter 1

Neko: Okay, I know you all were waiting for me to update all my other stories, but I just can't right now, I have had the worst case of writer's block on all of them! Every time I try I just can't seem to get anywhere with it… Do you know how frustrating that is? –growls-

Anywho, here is yet another story that's a little out there… (my brain is so totally screwy right now…) I hope you enjoy. I'm not sure exactly where this is going or even if there is going to be a pairing, but there it is… Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my GameCube, games, some clothes and a journal….

NOTE: In this story genin teams can be a squad of two or three!

* * *

Cherry Blossom in the Desert

By: Neko-Girl Lara

Chapter One: A Little Gift

It was the dead of night; with the village before them sound asleep, except for a few guards. A woman and man stood in the shadows of the opening, holding a sleeping baby. The woman cried softly as her husband took their child from her arms. "She'll have a better life, dear, you know that…" The man laid the child at the gates of Suna and, ringing the bell, the two disappeared with shinobi speed guiding their feet. The baby began to cry as guards went to check who had wanted admission. Two guards looked down from their perch on the high wall surrounding their home.

"It's a baby!" One man said before going down the stairs and picking up the child. Jade eyes and pink hair was the first things he saw when he lifted the blanket from her face. Looking her over for anything suspicious he looked at his partner and shrugged.

"We might as well take her to the Kazekage, he'll know what to do," the second man said as they closed the gate and began their march to the Kazekage's tower. When they arrived they sent a maid to awaken their leader. A few short minutes passed before they heard the stomping of a man's feet coming their way.

"What is the meaning of this?" an irate man with reddish brown hair yelled. A door beside the men opened.

"Daddy?" a blonde four year old asked from her bedroom door, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Go back to bed, Temari-chan, and make sure Kankuro-kun is still asleep," the man said to his daughter. She nodded and ran back into her room, shutting the door like a good girl should. The man turned back to his guards.

"Well? And this had better be good…" He growled at them. It was three o'clock in the morning and he had just gotten to sleep, thoughts of his wife's passing a year ago still troubled him. But the boy that had taken her life, his son, was his greatest fear. For within him lay the cause of so much devastation in Suna. He'd already killed three maids and he'd only just turned one. They'd already tried to kill him yet that sand of his protected him.

"Sir!" They bowed; a wrapped bundle in one man's arms. "We found this baby in front of the gate. It seems to have been abandoned…" They presented the child. The baby girl stared up at the man and cooed, reaching arms up to him. The Kazekage stared down at the child, liking her instantly, but showing no emotion on the outside.

"A baby? Now that's a new one… Fine, put her in the nursery with the monster that is my son… I'll deal with this later; now return to your posts!" The men handed the baby to an awaiting nursemaid, bowed to the Kazekage, and then ran back to their posts. The maid looked at her master.

"What if Gaara-sama does not accept the child? He would kill her…" The Kazekage glared at her.

"Like I care, that monster will be given over to Yashamaru tomorrow anyway, so I won't have to look at it," he said turning his back to her and the baby. But the maid called out one more question, making the man halt for a moment.

"What shall we call her?"

"Her hair is pink, like cherry blossoms, so we'll call her Sakura," he replied, walking away. The maid looked at the sweet baby and smiled, turning to walk to the nursery and the monster of a baby that lay within. The child that she had sworn to take care of scared the daylights out of her. The child never slept and he learned faster than any other baby she had ever cared for before. He could already stand on his own…

When she arrived she nodded to the guards outside the door. They opened the door and she took a deep breath before entering. Inside, standing by the edge of his crib looking up at the stars, was Gaara of the Desert. He looked up at his nurse and smiled sweetly. She looked terrified, which made baby Gaara frown, sand swirling around him in anger. "Gaara-sama, I've brought you a friend!" She laid baby Sakura next to him. The two little ones looked at each other. Sakura cooed happily before hitting the boy on the leg, completely touching him without his sand blocking her. Gaara blinked at her then smiled back. The nursemaid sweat dropped at the sight of the two together. It seemed Gaara had found a friend at last…

* * *

Five years later, at Yashamaru's house, after almost killing some other children and hurting Yashamaru, Gaara tied to stab his hand with a knife. "Yashamaru-kun…. Why does the sand do that?" With that innocent question horrible events unfolded, leading to Yashamaru's death, Gaara's insanity, and tears in the night. The next day after Gaara had killed Yashamaru he was brought before his father, the Kazekage.

"Do you know what you have done!" His father yelled at him. Gaara glared at him, all sense of feeling seemingly gone. The Kazekage stared at his son. "Fine, you will begin your training tomorrow to learn how to control yourself!" Jade eyes and pink hair popped up behind his chair.

"Daddy!" With that she launched herself at the Kazekage, who caught her easily. "Hi, Gaara-chan!" With an innocent smile she looked at the six year old coldhearted killer.

"Sakura-chan, Temari-chan, and Kankuro-kun will be training with you. You will be the strongest shinobi ever!" He sat his adopted daughter down next to Gaara.

"Eh! You're going to let me be a ninja, daddy?" The little girl asked. He nodded and she cheered, hugging the stoic boy next to her. "Did you hear that Gaara-chan?" The boy used his sand to pry the girl off of him. With that on the next day they began their shinobi training in two squads of two. Temari and Kankuro were together, and Sakura and Gaara were together.

The next day they met with their senseis for the first time. Sakura grabbed Gaara's hand, smiled at him, and pulled him towards their teacher. She touched the symbol on his forehead and giggled before letting go of his hand so they could begin their lessons.

The next day when he arrived at their training grounds Sakura looked pleased with herself. Next to her was a large gourd taller than she was. "Gaara-kun! I got you a present!" She pulled out a leather strap. "It's for when we go on missions outside of the village! So you can carry your sand!" The little boy looked at his pink haired sister and his lips quirked at little.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan…" With that she helped him attach it to his back.

"Wow, Gaara-kun, it looks like it was made for you!" She said happily as the boy tried to gain his balance with the large object on his back. She handed him a cork. "Once you put the sand in, this will keep it in!" After she said this, their sensei showed and they began their lessons, Gaara getting used to the object on his back.

* * *

"Listen up you four," their jounin leader said to them. A girl of 15 with four blonde ponytails grinned, a large fan attached to her back. A boy with purple face paint, a kitty-eared hat on his head, and what looked like a wrapped mummy on his back smirked. A boy with a giant gourd on his back, blood red hair, and black-encircled eyes made no movement. And a girl with pink hair, jade green eyes, and a large pole on her back, scowled. "We have gone into a secret alliance with the village of Sound. As we take part in the chunin exams we will be ordered to take a genin named Uchiha Sasuke… When we arrive we'll be given further instruction. Any questions?"

"Yah, who's this Uchiha character and why does Sound want him?" Sakura asked rudely. Her leader looked at her and smirked.

"Good question, we don't really know the answer to that question, but we will soon. We leave tomorrow at dawn. Now go get ready," he dismissed them. Kankuro snorted.

"All I need is this," he patted the wrapped up puppet next to him. Temari grinned.

"And all I need it my fan," she said, mocking him. Kankuro growled at her.

"Are you trying to make fun of me?"

"Who said I was trying? I am making fun of you!" She crowed before she ran out of the room, Kankuro following, ready for a fight. Sakura shook her head in shame.

"Those two act like they're five…" She sighed before following Gaara out of the room. "Say, Gaara-kun, do you wanna spar with me? I just made a new jutsu that I wanna work on." She looked at the boy in a challenging manner. Ever since their first day in training she'd changed from an innocent little girl to a hardened female shinobi. She was every bit as powerful as her sister and brothers, well Gaara was the strongest of them all, but the other three came close. She pulled out a scroll of manga and waved it at him. "My characters are getting better all the time!" Gaara stared at her with a death glare. "Fine… I'll practice on my own…!" With that she walked off.

Outside Kankuro was bound up by his own strings and Temari was grinning like a wildcat. "Ha! You think you can beat me?" Sakura laughed at her brother.

"Temari – 100, Kankuro – 2!" She yelled the score. Temari laughed, sitting atop her brother's back. Kankuro growled into the dirt by his lips.

"Fine, Sakura-chan! I'll take you on instead!" Temari laughed more as her brother tried to get her off of him and loosen the strings around him.

"Kankuro, I can't even beat baby sister's characters!" Sakura grinned, knowing it was true. Temari's wind based attacks did nothing to phase her creations.

"Take me on if you think you can! But first you have to fix your silly little puppet and rewire him!" Sakura laughed before gasping as sand began to surround her. "Gaara-kun…" she said softly before front-flipping out of the sand trap. She looked back to see an evil smirk on her brother's face. She grinned. "Ready to play?" Sand came up from beneath her, but she did a series of flips to escape. Her outfit rustled at the actions. She wore a white sleeveless shirt that stopped just below her butt, white wrappings covering her more personal areas on and between her legs, the wrappings continued half-way down her right leg where her kunai holder was. Attached on her right shoulder was leather strap that held a long wooden pole to her back. She laughed, getting into the fight.

Gaara growled playfully at his baby sister, and the two continued their little dodging game until Sakura reached behind her and withdrew her favorite scroll. Biting her thumb while dodging yet another attack she rolled out the scroll and ran her bleeding thumb down it. She pressed it to the ground and yelled "Special Summoning! Manga no Jutsu!" With that her favorite, strong characters jumped off the page. Samurai, ancient shinobi of legend, and magical girls all came forth, prepared for battle. What made them special though was that they were completely see through, so wind and physical attacks couldn't hurt them, but they could hurt you. She giggled and sent in the first troops. While they tried to get through the sand, others came up from behind and distracted him. While trying to keep his eye on the characters he lost sight of Sakura. She blinked in above him, kunai at the ready. She almost had him before he sensed her and he used his sand to throw her back. Loosing her chakra concentration, her characters disappeared in puffs of smoke.

"Admit defeat…" Gaara said as she was sprawled under his heavy sand.

"Fine! You win, Gaara-kun!" She grunted. The sand let up, seeping back into his gourd while she found her feet. "I almost had you that time…" He nodded then in a swirl of sand he was gone. She sighed and looked at her two older siblings. "Well?"

"You really did almost get him!" Temari chirped. Kankuro nodded sullenly, angry that he was the weakest of the four. Sakura grinned more. Looking to where Gaara was standing on a rooftop nearby. She smiled softly up at him, glad he had kept the gourd for so long.

* * *

In Konoha Kankuro had started trouble by grabbing a little runt by the front of his shirt, laughing. A loud blonde boy was yelling at him to put the little boy down. Temari was also trying to get him to put the little wiseass down. Suddenly a boy with black hair appeared on a branch above them all. He tried to threaten Kankuro to put the little boy down, but Kankuro just laughed at him. A soft chuckle came from beneath the boy in the tree, and he looked to see a girl with pink hair laughing at their antics.

"Kankuro-kun, put the little guy down, before Gaara-kun gets here…" She said softly. The blonde male's jaw dropped at the pretty girl. 'She's gorgeous!' He thought.

'Now who is this?' The boy with black hair thought looking at the strong female beneath him. Suddenly a boy was standing, upside down, beside him on an adjacent tree limb.

"Kankuro, put the child down…" he said coldly. Kankuro laughed nervously.

"Sure, Gaara-kun, whatever you say…" The boy in black put the boy down by tossing him at the blonde boy, making them both fall backwards.

"Time to go…" the girl with pink hair said, and in a blink she was gone, followed by the boy in black and the girl with the fan. Gaara took a moment to look at the boy with black hair before, in a whirl of sand, he too was gone.

On their way back to their lodgings Sakura was lecturing Kankuro. "Just what were you trying to do back there, brother? Now you've brought unwanted attention to us!" They were jumping rooftops, in order to avoid people. Kankuro sighed and looked at his baby sister.

"I was just having some fun, and it even brought out our target… so hush!" Sakura's eye twitched before letting her fists fly on her big brother. In a few short minutes Temari threw Kankuro over her shoulder and they went on their way.

"Jeez, Kankuro it's time for you to go on a diet…" Temari said to her unconscious brother.

* * *

After getting out of the "Forest of Death", as they called it, without a scratch Sakura yawned as they explained the third part of the exam.

"You'll be pitted against each other for the preliminaries," A woman said into a microphone by her mouth. With great difficulty two other people explained to the slow Konoha genin of what to do. (A/N: really, that was ridiculous at how long it took for them to grasp the situation, I wanted to strangle them all…) And with that the first two were picked.

'Uchiha, huh? This should be interesting…' she thought watching the boy get his ass kicked before finally doing some kicks to win. 'That pathetic excuse for a ninja is what Sound wants? Even I could have beaten his ass…' Shaking her head she watched the next couple of matches before Kankuro was up. Her brother played with his victim before winning the match. Sakura sighed and noticed a pair of eyes on her. She turned to see the blonde loudmouth from before, and his sensei, looking at her hard. She stuck her tongue out at them and turned back to the screen. She was up against some girl named Yamanaka Ino…

Sakura sighed as she made her way down to the arena. She looked at her opponent and couldn't help but laugh. The blonde girl was shaking in fear.

"Alright I'll make this painless and quick, because you don't deserve my time…" she said coldly, flipping her long, pink hair back over her shoulder. Ino gulped then got in a fighting stance. The proctor looked at both girls, nodded and said for them to start. Ino rushed the pink haired girl, trying to land a punch.

Sakura dodged the slow, pathetic punches. She yawned and punched the girl in the stomach, knocking her into the wall twenty feet away. "Man, what a bad defense…" Yawning again she waited to see if the blonde would even get up. She didn't.

"I declare this match over, the winner is Sakura," the proctor said. With one last yawn Sakura made her way back to her siblings. All the Konoha genin she passed took a step back from her, except two. A boy with white eyes, and his teammate in green spandex. She stopped and looked at the boy with white eyes, and then with a nod she walked away. But she heard what his teammate had to say.

"Neji-kun, what was that all about?" The boy in green spandex (she mentally shivered at the thought), who looked exactly like his sensei, asked.

"Nothing," replied the boy. But the boy in green jumped before her and knelt before her.

"I swear upon my honor as a ninja to always protect you," he said before smiling, a little flash appearing on his tooth. Sakura recoiled in horror then growled, but before she could kill the insolent boy Temari grabbed her arms from behind, and drug her back to their group. Next were the loudmouth boy, Uzumaki Naruto, and another Konoha shinobi, Inuzuka Kiba. Their match was a little entertaining, but still dull with the blonde tricking the dog-boy and winning. Then was Temari against some girl named Tenten. Temari won in a matter of minutes. Next were Gaara and the boy in green spandex, Rock Lee. 'Now this should be interesting…'

Before the match began the boy blew a kiss in her direction. Sakura screamed in horror and dodged it. 'That little insect, Gaara-kun will teach him how to behave!' she thought as Gaara scowled at the weird boy. The match began with Gaara blocking the taijutsu master. But it quickly got interesting, but still Gaara won by using his sand skin shield. Next was the boy with white eyes, Hyuuga Neji, and another girl with white eyes, Hyuuga Hinata. 'Are they brother and sister?' She asked herself. 'No, too close in age, cousins I'm sure…'

Naruto cheered on the pathetic little girl, but she still lost. "This is getting boring…" she said to her siblings. Temari agreed and Kankuro nodded. Gaara was still licking his wounds quietly, even though he won.

But soon it came to an end, and the winners all stood in a row, except the Uchiha who was in the hospital recovering. Sakura snorted when she found out who she had to fight, that pathetic Sound ninja who beat the rolling fat-ass (A/N: Sorry, I really do love Choji, but this is in an outsider's opinion of him, she doesn't know the sweet boy he really is). Once they were dismissed Sakura sighed.

"I'm going to go take a nap and then go exploring," she said to her siblings. "Come get me if anything exciting happens around here, but I highly doubt it…"

"Sakura-sama," her sensei said before she got too far. "I want you back in the room no later than ten, understood?" She scowled at him, but nodded and walked away. The blonde boy caught up with her.

"That was a great fight! Really! Ino's no pushover and you beat her with one punch!" He said happily. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Can I help you?" He just laughed, shook his head, and then turned to run off.

"Nah! I just wanted to congratulate you, Sakura-san!" He said before running off. She raised her eyebrow again at his back for being so informal with her. Of course the boy didn't know her last name… she did have one, like Gaara…

* * *

END CHAPTER 1

* * *

Neko: Well, there's chapter one! And I still have no idea where it's going…

Sakura:I fight with manga characters and can punch Ino out with on hit? CHA! –cheers-

Neko: Yes, yes… -grabs Neji-kun as he tries to duck out- Where do you think you're going? –he glares at the author-

Neji: I have no part in this whatsoever! And I don't want to!

Neko: We'll too bad; I think I just made you the main squeeze! –Grabs Naruto with her tail and Kakashi with her other arm- Or you two might make good matches too…

Sakura: I want…. Hmm, they are all cute, but I want….. Neji-kun! –she grabs him then hugs the stoic boy as he tries to get away from her iron grip-

Neko: -releases Kakashi and Naruto- Well that's all the time we have, folks, see you when I decide to update! Byes! -huggles her Gaara close before she runs for her life from the sand trying to kill her- Gaara-kun!

UPDATE: I just realized that I misspelled Naruto-kun's last name, so if you spot anywhere that I missed, please tell me… Along with any other names I might have gotten wrong… As I don't have a beta reader yet to look over my documents before I post them… BTW if anyone wants to be my beta-reader please volunteer…


	2. Chapter 2

Neko: -sitting atop Gaara's gourd-less back- Well now I've actually decided to write more, but I'm not sure how long it will be… I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted the rest to play out. Like the original story or my own twist on it? Hmm, so many choices to play with!

Neji: -walking by, Sakura hanging on his arm- Now look what you've done; she won't leave me alone to brood…

Sakura: -giggles- Oh, Neji-kun! –cuddles the ice cold boy-

Neji: -tries to drag her off-

Lee: -appearing out of no where- Sakura-san, will you marry me and make me- -is completely beaten by Neji-

Neko: -raises an eyebrow at Neji- I thought you didn't like Sakura-chan?

Neji: -sighs and turns to the author- I don't, but that doesn't mean anyone else can have her… -he growls as the author starts laughing at him-

Naruto: Neko doesn't own me or my storyline! The manga-ka (Has he been titled with that yet? Well he should be if he hasn't!) making all the money and who can actually draw me does…

* * *

Cherry Blossom in the Desert

By: Neko-Girl Lara

Chapter Two: Time to Play

"A whole month to train before the next round… what to do, what to do…so bored… What do these people do all day?" Sakura sighed as she lounged in a tree above the training ground of Team 8. The Hyuuga girl and the dog-boy were fighting the bug-boy who had won his round. Their sensei watched from the sidelines, occasionally shouting directions to them. So far the bug-boy had warded off all attacks with either his bugs or by his own fists. It was actually interesting to watch, for such weaklings.

Suddenly, but without scaring her, the Hyuuga boy appeared next to her on the tree limb. "Why do you watch my cousin and her teammates? I know you could beat Aburame-san without much effort…" He asked, sitting down. Sakura decided to answer with the truth.

"Because it passes the time… Why are you here?" The boy looked at her. She looked completely bored out of her mind.

"To keep tabs on the competition… Not that it will be any problem for you, but I, on the other hand, am in need of knowing my opponent's skills… I already know Kakashi-sensei has taken Uchiha-san into training, and Uzumaki-san has gone under the training of a legendary sannin…" He said. She looked at him, gauging him for his words. "And that your brother, the one with the red hair, has caused your opponent to forfeit from your match."

"WHAT!" She growled, startling the people below her. "He better have not! I'm not so weak I can't take care of myself! That selfish bastard!" He looked at her, surprised she could say such words about a brother that, supposedly, cared deeply for only her. He gauged this on how her sister and other brother acted around their younger brother. The people below them went back to training at their sensei's command, ignoring the Hyuuga boy and the Sand-nin girl.

"I don't think it was that… I think the Sound-nin attacked your brother and he just protected himself… It was only yesterday, on the full moon…" Sakura's eyes widened. She knew that the monster within her brother had stirred at the preliminaries, but she hadn't known it had awoken.

"This could be bad…" with that she was gone. Neji stared after the girl. He didn't know why he had told her all of that, but something inside had compelled him to say it. Now he watched after her with his piercing white eyes, looking for something…

* * *

Sakura burst through her brother's door. "Gaara-kun!" The boy with blood red hair looked up at his furious sister. He set the spoon down in his bowl before rising from the table he sat at. Temari and Kankuro discreetly left before the fight began, but kept at the door to listen. "Gaara-kun, why did you fight my opponent?" The boy with black-rimmed eyes looked at his baby sister.

"Your opponent tried to kill me, on orders from our dear father… And _he_ got bloodthirsty… And you know I can't go against _him_ when he gets like that…" Gaara said quietly. Sakura sighed. Her father was always sending someone after Gaara in hopes to kill him.

"Gaara-kun…" She sighed before breaching his sand and hugging the poor boy. Gaara stood rigidly, but accepted her within his personal space. "You know it won't always be like this… Father will eventually give up or die… But I'll always be here for you." She kissed the symbol upon his forehead before giving him a blinding smile and stepping back. She was the only person in the world Gaara allowed close to him, everyone else just trembled in fear of him. "Well now I'll have to face the winner of the first match. That Hyuuga boy or that loudmouth blonde, who's being trained by a legend I'll have you know…" Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow at this. And the two discussed what was happening in Konoha and the next part of their mission.

Outside the door Temari and Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief. Whenever their two younger siblings fought usually Temari, Kankuro, or both would be drawn in and beaten to a pulp. "Well, it seems baby sister has finally learned to curb her temper…" Temari mentioned. Kankuro nodded.

"So how about some training?" He grinned at her. She grinned right back.

"Okay, I'll take you on, tubby," she teased causing him to growl and chase her out of the hotel.

* * *

Finally the month had passed and the final rounds were to begin. Sakura chatted with Temari as the first match began between Uzumaki and Hyuuga. But it soon caught the girls' attention. 'Wow, he's kinda cute with that little mark,' Sakura thought looking at the Hyuuga and his curse mark. Suddenly Sakura looked up where the Hokage and the Kazekage sat. Sakura scowled at the Kazekage. "Temari-chan," she whispered to her sister.

"Hmm?" Temari looked at her little sister, taking her eyes away from a good match.

"That's not father…" Sakura said. Temari looked up to where her "father" sat, and then nodded.

"It's not… Do you think he killed father?" Kankuro and Gaara walked up to them.

"That's the man who hired us for this…" Kankuro said, looking at the "Kazekage". Gaara scowled.

"Don't say anything… This is part of the plan…" Gaara said softly. They turned back to the matches. Finally it was the Uchiha against Gaara.

"Woo! Go Gaara-kun!" Sakura cheered, earning her an evil smirk from him. Temari and Kankuro stared at her, and then went back to the match. That's when all hell broke loose as the Sand-nin and the Sound-nin attacked Konoha.

* * *

Someone had actually beaten Gaara… Sakura, weak from her own fights, stared at her battered brother, before hoisting him up on her back. Looking back at the blonde, who was being taken care of by his sensei, who had just arrived, Sakura smiled. 'Thank you, Naruto-kun…' She didn't know why she was thanking him; she just knew that she should.

Meeting back up with Temari and Kankuro, Gaara softly said words he'd never said before, surprising them all. "I'm sorry…" With that he fell asleep as the Sand Siblings made their way back home to Suna. What lay ahead for them would test them all.

* * *

"Gaara-sama, we wish for you to take your father's place," the Suna council members said to the collected siblings. Temari, Kankuro and Sakura looked at each other in shock. Gaara stared down at the members.

"Why? You have only let my father try to kill me for the past twelve years… Why do you wish for me to take his place? I will not easily be welcome in the position," He said, voicing his concerns. They discussed this for a moment.

"We understand your… concerns, but we insist that the strongest of the Sand Siblings take the title of Kazekage. Once you show your opponents your strength none will oppose you," the leader of the council said. Gaara nodded.

"Fine, I accept…" Sakura smiled at her brother. This was going to be fun. "But only if you make Sakura-chan take my place in my absence…" Sakura's eyes widened.

"But, brother, I-" Sakura began.

"Next to me you are the strongest of us all," he said softly, not turning around to face her. "And Temari-chan and Kankuro-kun will be good aids to us. They can more readily speak with the people than either you or I can…" Sakura nodded, knowing this as the truth.

"Fine then, Gaara-sama, I accept." She bowed her head to his back. He nodded in reply.

With this Gaara was sworn in, becoming the Kazekage of all Suna and Wind Country. As expected lords rebelled, disliking the choice of the council, but they soon calmed when a peace agreement was signed with Konoha, so their fears of war was calmed.

Months passed as Gaara got acclimated to his new position in society. Temari bossed the now calm Gaara around and pulled pranks on him, and Kankuro filed paperwork being the best at it. Sakura watched as her brother began to relax around people, slowly accepting them into his life. Although he still lost his temper at times and it took all three of his siblings to keep from killing whoever had upset him.

Sakura soon took a liking to healing jutsus, wanting to be of more use in missions than a fighting machine. Finding she excelled in the smaller jutsus she began writing to the new Hokage, who was claimed to be the best medic-nin of the time. A few days later word reached them that Uchiha Sasuke had run off to join Sound, and, as an ally of Konoha, Gaara agreed, sending himself, Temari, Kankuro, and Sakura to help.

* * *

Once the mission had ended, having failed to retrieve Uchiha, he was officially pronounced as a missing-nin. Sakura, under the guidance of Tsuande, began to help heal the wounded. She was given the Hyuuga to help.

His chakra had been completely depleted, making him look very fragile. She smiled at him as he finally came to three days later. "Hey there, sleepy head, how do you feel?" She asked softly, checking his vitals and other such things.

"Sakura-san?" She smiled at his confused look. "What are you doing here? Where-?"

"I'm just here to help in your healing. I've recently taken up the art…" she said, moving her glowing green, chakra infused hand over one of his cuts. He blinked as the skin closed and began it's healing. His white eyes looked the sand-nin over.

She wore a new outfit of navy blue with cherry blossom pink satin wrapped around it, tied in a bow at the back (think of Sheena from Tales of Symphonia game, but with short shorts instead of pants), the blue fabric stopped at her hips and she wore black spandex shorts underneath. The leather strap was still on her back, but her pole was by the door. She wore black, fingerless gloves that stopped just short of her elbow with brown leather straps to secure them. She also wore the black fabric around her thighs and down her shins with the same straps secured around the top and just under her knees, leading down into her black shinobi sandals. All in all she looked as cute as ever, but she had cut her long hair short so it just touched her shoulders.

She smiled at him after he had looked her over, and then went to the door. "Your uncle and cousins have been waiting for you to awaken; do you want me to get them for you?" He nodded and she left with a little wave. Soon his family members entered with Sakura leading them. "Now, you can't stay for long, he's due for some more tests, but I'll give you an hour." With that she left the family to talk.

"N-Neji-kun, how do you feel?" Hinata asked her cousin, coming to sit in a chair next to him. His uncle and younger cousin stood on the other side of his bed.

"Better… I'm sorry to have worried you, little cousin," he said to her with a soft smile. Shortly after he had lost to Naruto he had grown close with Hinata, Hanabi and Hashi (A/N: Is that his name?). He and Hinata had worked on her confidence while he had taught Hanabi to work on her ego. His uncle had welcomed him back into the inner family's arms, where Neji took it upon himself to make the Branch Family's needs known, working on peace in the family. Hinata smiled at her cousin.

"I-I've brought you my salve to h-help with your-your cuts, it-it should e-ease any aches. B-But tell me, N-Neji-niisan, how did-did you e-end up in s-such a st-state?" He told them of the Sound-nin with his spider-like abilities and the monster he had become. Soon he finished and asked his own questions.

"How are Choji-san, and the others?" Hinata frowned, twiddling her fingers in her nervous fashion.

"C-Choji-kun is in serious condition, b-but Hokage-sama has f-faith that he sh-shall be fine… S-Shikamaru-kun, Kiba-kun, a-and Lee-kun came back with m-minor injuries, but N-N-Naruto-kun…" She paused. "A-After going after S-Sasuke-san they engaged in a horrible battle that left N-N-Naruto-kun drained of e-everything but the s-smallest of life… S-Sasuke-san e-escaped…" Neji digested this news and tried to sit up. "N-Neji-niisan! Please, lay down!" She tried to push him back down and succeeded, but only after the boy put up a good fight.

"I want to talk to Naruto-kun!" Neji demanded.

"I'm afraid you can't do that, Hyuuga-san," Sakura said from the door. "He's still out of it…" She smiled at the small family gathered, walking into the room, and coming to stand next to Hinata. "Well, now, it's time for some blood work, Hyuuga-san." Hashi guided his daughters out as Sakura pulled up a wheelchair. "Alright this should take you right to Tsuande-sama." Neji scowled at her and the chair.

"I can walk…" he said, removing the blanket himself, and then swinging his legs off the bed after sitting up.

"Okay, I'd like to see you try…" She challenged. He stood and took one step before he almost fell flat on his face. Sakura wrapped his arm around her neck. "You know, illness can be seen as a humbling experience or a weakness. I wonder how you see it…" She slid the boy into the chair and then wheeled him right out the door. Neji sat in silence, mad that he had to look so weak in the face of a very strong woman. But she was right, this was a humbling experience. He had never been so weak before, and this new experience taught him that he would have to train his body harder than ever before, and to work on his blind spot. "Here we are," she said, wheeling him into a room where Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, and Choji were, all with needles in their arms, pumping out blood. Neji shivered at the sight.

The other boys smiled as he was brought in. "Hey, Neji-kun!" Kiba hollered happily. Akamaru lay in his lap, bandages around most of the poor puppy's body. Choji gave him a weak grin, his body thin and fit. Shikamaru gave him a thumb up.

"Now, why don't you talk to your friends while I get things ready?" Sakura said before parking his wheelchair next to the other boys, and then walking off to talk to the Hokage. Neji looked at the boys again. Choji was wrapped in so many bandages he looked like a mummy. He also had a feeding tube hooked into his other arm. Kiba's midsection was heavily bandaged, as were his hands and arms. Shikamaru had a wrapping around his head and a few others placed here and there; he looked utterly exhausted (more so than his usual lazy-assed self).

He looked back up as Sakura walked up to him. "Now this shouldn't hurt a bit, but tell me if you feel any uncomfort," she said before sticking a needle in his arm and dragging forth his blood. Neji cringed for a moment then looked forward, only to be looking directly at Sakura's chest. He gulped and blushed slightly. She stood again and walked back to where the Hokage stood talking to her aid, Shizune.

Now what in his right mind made him blush? He'd seen a woman's chest before… just not that close. He sighed and caught Kiba grinning at him. Neji scowled and concentrated on the needle in his arm. Sakura turned and made eye contact with him, and gave him a stunning smile.

* * *

Neko: Okay I'm going to stop it here for now. Did it get a little hot in here or is it just me? -giggles-

Sakura: -looking at her new outfit in a mirror- I look so battle ready and cute!

Neji: -looking Sakura over… from behind- I must agree… -he grins lecherously-

Sakura: PERVERT HENTAI! –she slaps him across the face with the strength of Tsuande-

Neko: -watches him fly then crash into Hokage Mountain (sorry don't know the real name of it) and winces- Ouch… that has _got_ to hurt… We'll like I said in the first chapter, if I've misspelled anything or gotten some names wrong, please tell me, because I still do not have a beta-reader… -sighs and sulks off to eat a package of Oreos-


	3. Chapter 3

Neko: Well, I have returned with yet another chapter… I don't know why this one has kept in my head for so long, but it has… oi… -looks around and notices that none of the characters are around- Oh… yah, Sakura's tending Neji in the hospital for being a pervert… I'm so proud of him!

ATTENTION: I AM IN NEED OF A BETA READER! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE CONTACT ME! I'M IN DESPERATE MODE HERE PEOPLE!

* * *

Cherry Blossom in the Desert

By: Neko-Girl Lara

Chapter Three: War and Peace

"PERVERT!" Sakura screamed at the man who had just grabbed her ass. She slapped him silly, infuriated. The man sighed happily at having gotten to touch his nurse's cute little butt. Neji ran into the room, he had been down the hall in the therapy room when he'd heard her scream. Lee, Gaara, and Naruto followed him. The man laughed nervously at the young men who had gathered at her scream.

"Sorry, guys, really," the white-haired man said.

"Ero-sennin…" Naruto sighed. Gaara and Neji glared at Naruto.

"That is the tenth time, and tenth male, who has touched my sister in an inappropriate way in just one week, Naruto-kun," Gaara growled. "If this does not cease soon we shall leave and your hospital will suffer at the loss of a building…" Sakura sighed; Gaara had been using the same threat for the past three years since they had been Konoha.

"Gaara-kun… they can't help themselves…" she said, grabbing the hentai's hand before it reached her backside again. She broke his fingers making him yelp. Naruto and Lee cringed at her strength. Gaara looked at his adorable sister as she pouted. "And this is the best hospital to perfect my techniques…" She grabbed his other hand, as it yet again reached for her backside, and broke his fingers.

Naruto grabbed his sensei by the ear and drug him out of the room, only to take him to Tsuande. Lee's eyes shone at Sakura.

"Sakura-san will-?" She beat him over the head, sighing.

"Of course it could be beneficial to my stress level if I were to go home for a short while…" She said softly. Temari and Kankuro, after the whole Uchiha fiasco, had gone home to run the country. Gaara nodded turning towards the door, his maroon overcoat rustling at his movement. "Or, at least, some time off from here…"

"Kazekage-sama!" A frantic messenger-nin yelled running up to the group. "News from Suna! It's under attack!" Gaara growled before running off to the Hokage's office. Sakura, Lee, and Neji followed.

When they arrived Tsuande had already ordered others to help. "I wish for you to take Gai's team, along with Kakashi and Naruto. They will assist as where I can not," she offered. Gaara nodded and the group ran to collect their packs before heading out an hour later.

"I hope we aren't too late…" Sakura prayed as they all pushed themselves to reach Suna as soon as possible. Neji looked over at the worried girl, then turned back to the branches they were jumping over.

* * *

Sakura cried as she watched her grandmother use her life to save Gaara's. "Baa-chan!" She screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. Gaara still lay lifeless next to her. Turning to him she began to heal him as best she could. "Gaara-kun! You must live! I can't live without my family!" Finally she felt a pulse under her shaking fingers. With that she passed out into the darkness of sleep.

When she awoke all she saw was white eyes. "Hmm… Neji-kun?" She blinked as she sat up. She saw that everyone had gathered around the siblings. Temari cried out as she embraced her sister.

"Sakura-chan! Thank Kami you're okay!" She cried into Sakura's shoulder. Kankuro mussed her hair.

"Glad you're okay, baby sister," he said gruffly, also thankful that his baby brother was alive. Sakura turned to face her brother. Gaara looked as fazed as she felt…

"Gaara-kun… Gaara-kun, Baa-chan, she…" Sakura began to cry again. Temari hugged her baby sister close, also sad at the loss of their grandmother. Gaara looked at his sisters, feeling empty. His eyes widened when he didn't hear that lazy raccoon's voice.

"Sakura-san…? What happened?" Kakashi asked the girl. She turned tearful eyes to the silver haired ninja.

"Baa-chan… she died to revive Gaara-kun… He- He had died…" She said softly.

"I… was dead? Maybe that's why it's so quiet in here…" He pointed to his head. Sakura laughed softly.

"He's gone then?" He nodded.

"We'll let's get back to Suna for a nice relaxing period after such a long battle," Gai said to all the young shinobi surrounding him. Nine sets of eyes looked at him and nodded.

Back in Suna the large group went to Kazekage Tower and went to sleep, even Gaara. He slept for the next two weeks, catching up. Sakura had attached a feeding tube so he didn't starve. "Sleep well, my dear brother…"

As the Kazekage healed in sleep, Sakura took to running everyone around with gusto. She sent the Konoha ninja off with the thanks of Suna and Wind Country. The two teams waved goodbye, even Neji. When Gaara finally awoke the rings around his eyes had lessened, but was still there, and probably always would be. He regained his strength, sparring with his siblings. He had loss a great power, but was still strong in his own right. Soon after he went back to work as Kazekage Sakura left Suna for Konoha, to train to be a better medic-nin.

* * *

"Neji-kun!" Tenten yelled at the fifteen year old boy. "Pay attention! Jeez! This is so unlike you!" The weapons expert sighed, putting away her weapons, fed up with his lack of concentration. Neji sighed as he walked over to his teammate.

He had one thing on his mind and it wasn't training. He needed to get his head back in the game. But a tear-streaked face, with soft pink hair surrounding it had captured his attention and wouldn't let go. Gai looked at his young students.

"Ah, such youth, how I miss my own…" He said more to himself than Neji and Tenten. "Now," he said speaking up, "What had gotten our prodigy's head all in whirl?" Neji mumbled something before walking off.

"Did he just say, 'Sakura'?" Tenten asked. Gai nodded, just as confused as his student.

Neji sighed as he sat down at his favorite mediation spot. For the past three years he had come here and slowly worked on lessening his blind spot. Now Tenten could barely get him. But today he sat to focus his mind, to steer them away from the doom that love was… no not even love, it was pure lust for the pink haired girl of Suna. Sighing again he sat in his pose and closed his eyes. Focusing on the darkness that was slowly becoming his thoughts. He felt a rush of wind sweep by him.

"Sorry!" It called as it moved on. Naruto… He focused again for another half hour before someone stopped by, sat next to him and just relaxed in his peace. He looked to see Kiba. An hour later Kiba left, satisfied with his nap. Two hours later the wind swept by again, but in the same direction.

"Sorry!" A female voice called. Sakura… Sakura? He opened his eyes and watched the beautiful shinobi girl run towards Konoha. His mind turned to mush. Laying back in the grass he took a deep breath and daydreamed. At first it was innocent. Him training with Sakura, him taking her to dinner, her giving him a kiss at her door, her dragging him to a bed stripping off their clo- He growled at his thought.

Stupid teenage hormones… Did liking a girl have to be so complicated? He whined softly in frustration. Why couldn't his life be as easy as, oh let's say, Shikamaru's? Or Choji's? But even he knew their lives weren't easy as some… Everyone he knew, his teammates and the Rookie 8, had had hardships in their lives. Naruto, having been shunned since birth; Sasuke, having his clan killed by his brother; Hinata, having the dislike of her father; Kiba, always being underestimated because he used a dog in battle; Shino, for using his bugs; Shikamaru's home life; Choji's weight problems; Ino's not having any close girlfriends; Tenten for being an orphan; and Lee for not being able to use genjutsu or ninjutsu. Even their jounin leaders had had hard lives…

Such depressing thought made the white-eyed nin scowl. Even his own life had been hard. The loss of his mother at his birth; his father's death at age seven… Not being accepted into the Hyuuga's main family until he was thirteen. Sighing again for the hundredth time that day he stood and made his way home to Konoha.

Walking down the shopping district's main street Neji stared at the ground, shuffling his way through the crowds.

"NEJI-KUN! Yo! Neji-kun!" Naruto yelled from the ramen stand. The Rookie 8 (except Sasuke, who was still with Orochimaru), Lee, Tenten and Sakura were with him. "Come on! We're about to eat!" Neji grinned as he made his way towards his friends. All the girls had clustered into a little group while the boys talked over each other as they all took their seats. Shikamaru told a joke, while Kiba and Naruto raced to see who could eat the most ramen. Tenten played with Hinata's hair, while Ino told Sakura about everything that had gone on in Konoha for the pass few months. Sakura listened intently, while sneaking bites of food into her mouth. Lee punched him in the arm as he told an embarrassing story about Neji.

Sakura turned as he began the story, the rest of the girls listening in, too. Neji blushed and tried to shut the boy up but it was too late.

"Now we all know what control Neji-kun has over himself, but last year on a mission…" He then told a story of where Neji, as Tenten was ill, had to dress like a woman due to his long hair. Everyone laughed as Lee said that Neji had had to use Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu just to fit into the dress. "I must say that Neji has perfected that little number Naruto-kun!" Naruto laughed himself right out of his chair.

"Lee-kun, I am going to kill you," Neji promised. Sakura put her hand on Neji's shoulder, making him blush more.

"You think that's bad? Temari and I were having a slumber party back when we were young, and Kankuro tied up Temari, putting her in a closet. He then turned himself into Temari, just to feel up the girls!" The guys laughed. "But something he didn't plan on was Gaara finding Temari and spoiling Kankuro's fun. Temari screamed like a banshee and all of us girls beat the daylights out of him!" Everyone laughed. Neji calmed some.

The night went on with everyone telling funny stories of some sort, before they all went their separate ways.

"May I walk you home, Sakura-san?" Neji asked her. She smiled brightly.

"Okay! But call me Sakura-chan! We've known each other long enough!" She was still chuckling over Choji's story of Shikamaru and Ino being caught kissing. "Say, Neji-kun?"

"Hmm?" He looked at the girl who occupied his every thought.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" He blushed brightly.

"No… I haven't found a girl yet that I would like to…" She grinned at him before tugging on his hand, his body bumping hers. She kissed him as he neared. His eyes shot open wide.

"Now, you have…" She said before entering her hotel. He stared after her, a small grin on his lips.

* * *

Neko: Well that's it for this chapter! –glares at Neji and Sakura who are making out nearby- HEY! What did I tell you two! Don't make me get the hose! – they laugh and run off-

Lee: -tears running down his cheeks- Sakura-san! –he cries harder until Tenten drags him off-

Neko: Anyway… I'm sorry the chapters are getting shorter, but hopefully better! I'll have the next chapter up soon, promise!


	4. Chapter 4

Neko: Okay I think ya'll have waited long enough! Here we go with chapter four!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

While Sakura was away in Konoha Gaara had gone back to work as Kazekage, trying to rebuild his shinobi ranks and his home. But today his mind just wouldn't let him concentrate on anything except Sakura… and the white-eyed male that was falling in love with her.

Gaara could tell that the Hyuuga prodigy had feelings for his sister… but he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Gaara shook his head, wondering why he was thinking of his sister like this. A knock sounded at his door and he turned from facing the window to facing his brother and sister. He gave them his new Gaara smile, that was just a little upturn of his lips, and they grinned at him. But suddenly they looked a little grim…

"Gaara… we found this scroll in Baa-chan's library… We thought you might want to look at it… It's about Sakura," Temari said, handing her little brother the scroll. Gaara looked perplexed but unrolled the scroll. He quickly read over it, his eyes widening.

"Sakura-chan is not our sister? How can this be?" Kankuro sighed.

"Father had our mother's death certificate changed to the day that Sakura was born, then made Sakura a false birth record… We still don't understand why he did this, but there's a lot of evidence that Sakura isn't our blood… I mean, who in our family has pink hair and green eyes?" Temari nodded in agreement.

"Plus, Baa-chan's records say of how she was found and how she was placed with you that first night…" Gaara shook his head.

"According to this the next day I was sent to Yashamaru…" His (nonexistent) brows furrowed. "Why would he go to such lengths for Sakura not to know?"

"Maybe we'll never know…" Kankuro said. A knock sounded at the door.

"Enter," Gaara called, taking his seat behind his desk. A guard came in and kneeled before him.

"I beg forgiveness for interrupting, Kazekage-sama, but there is a man and a woman at the gate asking for Sakura-sama… They say they are her parents…" Gaara looked at Temari and Kankuro.

"Bring them to me…" The guard disappeared in a puff of smoke. Soon a tall man with long black hair, a shinobi's body and cool jade eyes, and a woman with short pink hair, blue eyes, and a body similar to Sakura stood before him. Gaara stared at them. "Explain…" The man bowed with his wife.

"I understand this may come as a shock, Kazekage-sama, but the girl you call Sakura, is really our daughter. You see, fifteen years ago there was a great war between our home village, The Village Hidden in the Stars, and the newly forming Sound… We were a clan of strong and powerful shinobi, but I did not wish for my daughter to come to any harm, so we left her where we knew she would be safe, and no one would know her true identity. In recent years our home has stabilized enough for us to bring her home, to begin her training as the next Hoshikage…" The man said.

"Hoshikage?" Kankuro asked. "She's a princess?" The woman nodded.

"Now you see why we had to take her away… to protect her…" Tears came to the woman's eyes. "Please, may we see her?" The desperation in the woman's voice shone through, making Gaara's eyes soften.

"She is in Konoha at the moment… She is training under the Fifth Hokage to become a medic-nin…" The woman smiled.

"So even without us she is embracing her heritage… You see Hoshi, our home, is known as a great place of healing… We were actually worried that she wouldn't take to it and her destiny…" The man said. Gaara looked out his window for a moment, knowing that he probably wouldn't see his sister… no… he wouldn't see Sakura, ever again… Pain formed on his chest.

"I'll send for her… She should be here in three days. In the mean time we can talk political talk… I have only heard rumors of your home and I'm looking to form more alliances, especially with our Sakura-chan's father…" Kankuro and Temari left to collect their sister, who wasn't their sister, while Gaara and the man talked.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Sakura laughed as Naruto tried to capture Neji in a headlock during a spar, and ended up with Naruto flying through the air with a kick to his midsection. Naruto landed near her, and he rolled over to grin at her. Having Sakura around made him feel happy… like something he had been missing in his life suddenly fell into place.

Neji looked on as they smiled at each other, a whole conversation without words. He envied Naruto for that ability. He suddenly felt the wind change and there stood Temari and Kankuro. Sakura's face lit up and she stood, then ran over to them, hugging them.

"Nee-chan! Nii-san!" She said happily. Then smiled sadly down at her.

"Sakura-chan… we need you to come home- To Suna, now… There's something we need to tell you…" Temari said, touching Sakura's forehead. Sakura blinked up at her.

"But my training doesn't end until next month, can't it wait?" Kankuro shook his head in a negative.

"No, Sakura-chan, you have to come home now. We've already spoken to Tsunade-sama…"

"Is something wrong with Gaara?" Sakura suddenly looked worried. "Is he okay?" Temari smiled sadly.

"He'll be fine, he's not physically hurt…" Sakura looked confused for a moment.

"What's going on?" Kankuro sighed.

"Sakura-chan… you aren't our sister… Father adopted you when you were left at Suna's gates. You are the daughter of the Hoshikage… Your mother and father have returned for you, deeming it safe back in Hoshi…" Sakura looked away, trying to digest this news. Neji and Naruto watched on as Sakura struggled.

"So… I'm not your sister… And I'm a princess from a foreign country…" Tears softly fell down her cheeks. "Okay… let's return to Suna…" She turned to Naruto and hugged him. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun… I'm sure we'll see each other soon. Tell the others for me?" Naruto nodded, unable to speak from loosing his second best friend. She turned to Neji and gave him a soft smile. He just took her into his arms, not wanting to let go of the first person to touch his heart. But eventually she pulled away and began to walk away with Temari and Kankuro.

They stopped by Sakura's little place to gather up her belongings. She talked to her landlady, then they set out.

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Neko: Okay, this is where I'm hitting a brick wall… GIVE ME IDEAS! –falls over- Ugh… R+R!


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